Obama Administration Still Ignores Petition to Pardon Edward Snowden

The petition to pardon Edward Snowden is being ignored for a reason. They want to teach you your place.

People might think that the fact that people continue to sign the petition for the President to pardon Edward Snowden and the White House ignores this petition is embarrassing to the Administration.

In my opinion, that is a superficial interpretation of what is going on when the White House intentionally ignores a petition and despises the promise it made to respond to such petitions. I think the details from this Rare.US post show that there is more going on. Not only have they ignored the Snowden petition but they have answered other ludicrous petitions.

Even though the petition easily soared past the minimum signature count required to get the White House to provide an official response, the Obama administration has steadily ignored the request—even while providing plenty of attention to funny but unserious petitions to build a Death Star or deport Justin Bieber.

Snowden’s camp has taken notice. “The White House petition website is just another politicized mechanism disguised as a hallmark of transparency,” argues Jesselyn Radack, one of Snowden’s attorneys. “Ignoring petitions the administration doesn’t like, such as the one to pardon my client Edward Snowden, exposes the site as a propaganda tool, rather than a meaningful way of influencing government.”

Obviously, Radack is right that the petition site is just a propaganda tool. But ignoring the Snowden petition isn’t just a failure that reveals the political nature of the site. Ignoring the petition to pardon Edward Snowden is itself part of the propaganda.

The purpose of propaganda is not merely to win friends. It is also used to demoralize enemies.

Imagine if you go up to someone you think is a friend, who has promised to meet with you. What would you think if they pointedly ignored you and looked right through you as if you weren’t there? You wouldn’t say, “Oh, he failed to see me.” No, there is no “failure” involved. You would know that your “friend” was insulting you. He wasn’t even doing you the courtesy of telling you why he didn’t want to talk to you. He would be treating you as an enemy and telling you that you don’t count.

And all of you who hate the unconstitutional NSA spying and who are grateful to Edward Snowden for blowing the lid off the secret interpretation of the law that was being implemented—you’re the enemy.

And this Administration wants you to know that you don’t count.

Yes they promised to respond to petitions from all the American people, but you don’t count as part of the American people. Jokes about the Death Star and deporting Justin Bieber count more than your request to pardon Edward Snowden.

Do you understand? You just don’t matter. Even jokes are more important to respond to than you are.